He does not like pill pockets

You would think after all the cats I have had I could think of a way to pill this guy.

Tomorrow am my cat, Chance, has a vet appt for his rabies and teeth check. I just ran out and picked up pill pockets. He is a very skittish kitty, and will only allow me to pet him if he is half asleep.

I am giving him 1/2 a sed to take the edge off and make it a bit easier to catch him. I did a trial run, to see if he would like it and he turned up his nose!! UGH!

My mind is cluttered with all kinds of stuff today and I just can't seem to dream up another way to get the pill in him. It has to be a discrete pilling. I can't force it or I will never be able to do it. DH will be at work so I won't have the help.


What have you put the pill in to get your cats to take it? Heck, it looked good to me. I may use one on myself next time!! lol

Is there absolutely no way you can scuff this cat? If you can scuff a cat you can get a pill down them without help.

To make it easier you can get empty capsules, put the pill inside them, then grease them up with butter.

Not sure how you did it, but in the future you will just have to pill him. I have had to do it to Attitude. It's hard but you do what you gotta do. Nuts eats first and tastes it later, but Attitude will do it for a while then suddenly just decide she won't do it. Annoying cat.

You just have to make sure they don't spit it out. We found one of 'Tude's antibiotics on the floor, we were sure she had swallowed it but obviously she didn't.

I was thrilled when they changed her to a liquid antibiotic(I'd see if in the future the vet could do a liquid, it's easier for most cats, Nuts doesn't do liquids so a pill pocket and a pill would work better for him, I'm sure, never had to medicate him though), thought not for the reason her eye was still screwed up. Heck it still is but we've given up on it. The vet is ok with that, the vet didn't even bring it up when I took her in because she wasn't eating, they assume it's just not going to go away due to the FeLV.

You open the mouth pop it in and hold their mouth closed(or mostly closed) until they swallow. Make sure they can still breathe when you do this. If he eats canned food you can try to hide it in a small amount of that. Scruffing also works if all else fails.

I hope you figured something out. I know how frustrating it can be.

Taryn

Scruffing works best when trying to get a cats mouth open for any med, actually. That's because when you start to lift the cat's front end up their mouth opens a bit, too. With pills make sure you get them as far back on the tongue as possible. Ever make the mistake of not doing so with your own meds?

Ask the vet or a tech to show you how to properly pill or give a liquid med to your cats (to anyone reading) it will save you a lot of hassle in the long run instead of assuming your cat will cooperate. (because cooperate is rarely something cats do anyways! )

Hey there guys...I just made up my mind that I am the boss....So, luckily he was sleeping and ever so slowly went up behind him and talked to the kitty who was next to him.

I scruffed him and he wasn't pleased!! But was so scared he didn't move. Had butter on the pill, put it in the side of his mouth toward the back and held his mouth closed gently. I waited till he licked his nose and swallowed a couple times. Whew!

Thanks for all the suggestions. The vet visit was uneventful.

I'm glad you took charge. If you feel guilty you can always give him a treat after.

I make sure to talk to and pet my cats to let them know it wasn't some sort of punishment.

Yep, I did just that. Held him a bit longer and told him what a good boy he is and petted him.

He really is a gorgeous kitty, I wish he would have warmed up to me all these years. But it is enough for me to know that he is no longer out in the elements fending for himself.

I just love him.

Originally Posted by farleyv

Hey there guys...I just made up my mind that I am the boss....So, luckily he was sleeping and ever so slowly went up behind him and talked to the kitty who was next to him.

I scruffed him and he wasn't pleased!! But was so scared he didn't move. Had butter on the pill, put it in the side of his mouth toward the back and held his mouth closed gently. I waited till he licked his nose and swallowed a couple times. Whew!

Thanks for all the suggestions. The vet visit was uneventful.

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Yay! I'm glad that everything worked out, giving meds to a cat can be such a pain.

I went to the vet with Henry earlier this week. She gave him a pill in a pill pocket, which he happily ate. She said he was 1 of the 5 cats she's seen that actually eats the pill pocket. (Henry eats everything). So apparently the pill pockets don't work for many cats (or at least not in a vet's office).

be sure when you pill a cat that you have a feeding syringe with just a bit of water in it. This way, the pill won't get stuck in the throat which happens quite a bit. yOu don't want to flood the mouth with water, just a little bit will help the pill slide down the throat easier.

Attitude cooperates fully with liquid meds I have no problem giving them ot her. Of course she was on them for the first time at 8 weeks and has been on them pretty regularly since for various things(mostly her eye.) I put the syringe against her teeth and she opens and I just put it in her mouth and she swallows it. Nuts on the other hand will violently spit it out. When he went in to be wormed at a kitten appointment the vet did Attitude first and she happily took it like a good girl, then it was Nuts turn. The vet got wormed, I swear more of it ended up in or on the vet than in Nuts mouth. Poor vet, I forgot to warn him that Nuts gets violent with liquid meds I need to tell them to put that in his chart to always prescribe pills if possible.

Like I said Nuts eats first and tastes it later so I have no problem with him scarfing them down.

Taryn

Originally Posted by Taryn

Attitude cooperates fully with liquid meds I have no problem giving them ot her. Of course she was on them for the first time at 8 weeks and has been on them pretty regularly since for various things(mostly her eye.) I put the syringe against her teeth and she opens and I just put it in her mouth and she swallows it. Nuts on the other hand will violently spit it out. When he went in to be wormed at a kitten appointment the vet did Attitude first and she happily took it like a good girl, then it was Nuts turn. The vet got wormed, I swear more of it ended up in or on the vet than in Nuts mouth. Poor vet, I forgot to warn him that Nuts gets violent with liquid meds I need to tell them to put that in his chart to always prescribe pills if possible.

Like I said Nuts eats first and tastes it later so I have no problem with him scarfing them down.

Taryn

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Oh thats funny the vet getting wormed.. Hope he felt better after that!